Dear friends in Christ,
New Sunday Class
On Sunday, January 3, I begin a new class, on the collects of the Book of Common Prayer. For every Sunday of the year, and also for major feasts, the Prayer Book has a special prayer, known as the “collect” (pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable). A number of these have their origins in ancient Latin prayers, while others are of more recent composition. Some of the most elegant were brought into English by Thomas Cranmer in our first, 1548/9, Book of Common Prayer. Taken together, the collects provide a course in Anglican theology.
For the first session I will give an overview to the collects, including some remarks about their history and the classic “shape” of a collect. Then on January 10, Father Daniels will look at the collects of the Advent season.
The class meets on the 5th floor at 10 o’clock. We have coffee and tea (that’s hot coffee and hot tea) available in the room (and it’s about time we were looking forward to hot coffee and tea, not that I mind 60-degree days in December).
I will repeat the Sunday class on Monday from 12:40 to 1:20pm on the 2nd floor. If it’s not convenient for you to come to the Sunday class, it would be splendid to see you on Monday. (We will have Monday classes every week in January except for January 18, the MLK holiday.)
Looking beyond the coming week
The Rector’s Christian Doctrine Class will begin on Tuesday, January 12, and continue on most Tuesdays through early May. This class is a comprehensive overview of Christian faith and practice as this church has received it. Each session meets in Andrew Hall from 6:30 to 7:30pm. The class is open to anyone interested, but it is especially designed for people who would like to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church.
The first Good Books & Good Talk seminar of 2016 will be on Monday, January 25, when we’ll take up Muriel Spark’s remarkable novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Anyone who reads the book is welcome to the conversation (6:15 to 7:45 p.m.).
Peace,
Father Austin
